Entity's Combat Capabilities
It focuses a Matter Conversion Beam in a similar manner to starship weaponry, and uses this to lash out randomly at nearby vessels. This beam deals substantial damage to starships: it is capable of disabling and killing crew at an alarming rate.
The Crystal regenerates at very high speeds, and is incredibly resilient to our firepower – especially that derived from directed energy weapons. Massive amounts of sustained firepower will be needed over the course of our encounter in order to overcome this.
- Matter Conversion Beam Weapon (Antiproton damage)
- High Health Regeneration
- High Kinetic Resistance
- Very High Energy Weapon Resistance
There is a high chance that dealing damage to the Entity will cause a Large Crystalline Fragment to break off into space. We've observed these Large Fragments seeking out starships and ramming into them, potentially destroying them in a single hit. If you find yourself being followed by a Large Fragment, it's recommended that you either destroy it, or outmaneuver it.
Large Fragments that impact a starship will shatter into Small Fragments which returned to the entity and apply a "Re-Crystallize" effect that will amplify the magnitude of the entity's attacks. The Small Fragments can be destroyed, but targeting them has proven exceedingly difficult.
- When damaged, spawns Large Fragments which will attempt to ram vessels, but will ignore smaller targets (mines, fighters, etc.).
- If they impact a ship, will split into Small Fragments. Destroying them before they can impact the ship will prevent Small Fragments from spawning.
- Small Fragments will apply a buff that will increase the Entity's damage.
As a strange side effect of the Entity's unique crystalline structure, certain combat abilities that are typically used to drain enemy shields and subsystem power, have proven to break down newly-formed crystals along the entity's surface. These abilities are specifically effective against Small Fragments that have attached themselves to the entity and applied the "Re-Crystallize" effect.
Use of such abilities is recommended, in hopes of keeping the magnitude of the entity's devastating attacks in check.
The following abilities will periodically remove multiple "Re-Crystallize" charges from the Entity:
The entity is also capable of going into a sort of resonance trance. It is nearly immune to energy damage while in this state, and incoming weapons fire seems to feed its rage. After it has concluded this trance state, any energy absorbed is violently expelled in a shock wave that can be extremely devastating.
It is recommended that our strike force switch targets during this phase to avoid feeding the shockwave, and resume fire on the Entity after it has expelled its shockwave. Allowing it to absorb too much incoming energy will allow its shockwave to potentially vaporize our entire fleet.
- Can enter an Absorption phase: Any damage dealt during this phase is absorbed by the entity.
- This phase lasts 30 seconds, after which all absorbed energy is expelled violently in a massive Antiproton energy shockwave.
- If the Entity has been allowed to fully charge up with absorbed energy, and has any charges of Re-Crystallize, it's highly likely that this blast will destroy all ships within a 10 km range, in a single hit.
- The shockwave will damage any nearby Fragments and Tholian ships. It may be possible to use this to your advantage, but not recommended.
Load-Out Recommendations
This is a creature we are dealing with, not a starship. Weapon procs and abilities which impact starship subsystems will have no effect on the entity, except where previously noted to remove Re-Crystallize buffs. In particular, the procs found on standard Phasers, Tetryons and Polarons will not affect the entity, as it does not possess Shields or Subsystems. There are a great many different weapon procs in the game now; it is advisable to consult list of weapon procs to avoid any that mention affecting subsystems or shields.
Abilities which can control the movement of Large or Small Fragments, ordeal damage over a large area, could both come in handy to control the number of targets on the battlefield. Maneuverability is also important to avoid collision with Large Fragments.
- Weapons: The entity is less resistant to Kinetic Weapons than it is to Energy Weapons.
- Abilities: Subsystem Off-line abilities have no effect on the Entity or Fragments. (Boarding Party and Viral Matrix, for example)
- Abilities: Jam Sensors, Scramble Sensors and other similar effects are unlikely to affect the entity, but will befuddle the Large Fragments.
- Abilities: Movement control and multi-target damaging abilities recommended for use on shards. (Gravity Well and Photonic Shockwave, for example)
- Abilities: If you can't destroy the Large Fragments, find a way to out run them. They will find a new target once you are far away from them.